Shutter mechanism and thermostatic control therefor



w. A. KYSOR July 8, 1941.

SHUTTER MECHANISM AND THERMOSTATIC CONTROL THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 8, 1937 V Wa/fer ATTORNEYS July 8, 1941. w. A. KYSOR SHUTTERMECHANISM AND THEIQAOSTATIC CONTROL THEREFOR z-sheets-shet 2 Filed Feb.8, 1937 14 0/72? fi. K760) f'M Wn M I ATTORNEYS Patented July 1941 o,

v UNITED STATE s PATENT. OFFICE snu'r'rsa mecmimsu AND mimos'ra'rrccoN'raor. mans-0a Walter A. xm, Cadillac, Mich. Application-Februaryarousal-n1 No. 124,674

4 Claims. (01. 230-35) This invention relates to improvements in shuttermechanisms and thermostatic controls therefor.

o The main objects of my invention are:

First, to provide a thermally controlled device for automaticallyopening and closing shutters employed in regulating the temperature ofthe cooling system in water cooled motor vehicles. Second, to provide adevice of thetype de- .scribed which is positive in action and is parnowPatent No. 2,105,193 dated Jan. 11, 1938, and entitled Engine coolingand heating means for motor vehicles. The details of the structureherein shown and claimed are concerned solely with the operation of theradiator shutters in the system shown and claimed in that application.

The device according to my present invention is capable of automaticallyopening and closing the radiator shutters under thermostatic control,the shutter closing operation being accomplished positively and theshutter opening operation being achieved through spring operation sothat in the event of failure of the thermostatic control means thepossibility of damage to the motorparts through overheating iseliminated. Moreover,,I provide fluid motor means for the speciflcpurpose of effecting the shutter closing operation, thus relieving thethermostatic means to Further objects relating to details and econ-'omies of my invention will definitely appear from the description tofollow. fined in the claims.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings,

wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view illustrating the elements of myinvention in operative relation to parts of a motor vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view illustrating the fluidmotor and shutter housing of my device in operative relation on avehicle.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in The invention is devertlcalsection on a line corresponding to line 3-4 of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view in transverse vertical sectionon a line corresponding to line 4-4 of Figs. 1 and 5.

a Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view partially in section looking toward theleft in Fig. 4

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentaryview in secmum line 6-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view in vertical section on line II of Fig. 1,illustrating details of the air cleaner embodied in my invention.

Thlsinvention relates to improvements in an engine cooling water heatcontrol mechanism of the type shown,,for instance, in my copendingapplication Serial No. 26,947, filed June 17, 1935,

which the radiator temperature changes are imparted of excessiveoverload. In many known devices, the thermostatic element has beendepended upon to effect the shutter actuation by itself, a functionwhich imposes much too great a load on the same, with the result that itoften fails. I

My improved device is characterized principally by the iact that ttheshutter actuating element, which is in the form of a fluid pressureactuated engine, is positive in .its action. To effect this positiveoperation, I drove the engine from an" air reservoir under pressure,"and accordingly my device is reliable in action at all times incounterdistinction to known devices which are vacuum operated, beingconnected to the engine manifold, and which vary in operation accordingto the load imposed on the engine.

Further features of my invention reside in novel air cleaning andself-lubricating details of my structure which will be more particularlydescribed in the specification to follow.

Referring to the drawings, the'reference numeral I indicatesthe'radiator shell of an automobile which is communicated with the waterchamber or jacket of engine block 2 by a conduit 3 which includes aninsert section. 4. Theradiator is provided on its front with a shutterhousing generally indicated at 5 and secured to the radiator shell inany suitable manner. oted' within the shutter housingfor instance, onvertically arranged brackets 6v therein-I provide a plurality ofhorizontal shutters I each secured to a pivot pin; 8 which is joumaledin brackets 8. Each of the longitudinally extending shutters preferablycarries felt sealing material at its lower end adapted to cooperate inPivclosed position of the shutter with the adjacent overlapping end ofthe adjacent shutter to more fully insure the housing against theadmission of cold air when it is closed.

. Secured to each pivot pin 8, I provide a rearwardly extendingactuating lever arm 8, which arms are actuated by a vertically movabletie bar Ill provided with a plurality of apertures receiving the offsetends H of the several arms 9. A coil spring l2 connected at one end to alug |3 on bracket 6 and at its other end to a lug M on bar serves at alltimes to' urge the bar I downwardly, hence the shutters toward open,

position.

In order to elevate tie bar l0 and shift the shutters to closedposition, I employ a cable or cord l5 having a terminal eye piece l6fastened ,to its free end and received by lug 4, the cable passing overa pulley l1 journaled in a small covered pulley block I 8 which issecured to the upper side of the shutter housing. 5. I have found thisarrangement of parts tobe effective; butother suitable means forshifting the shutters may be 5 nut 20 which is swiveled in one arm of arock lever 2|. Lever 2| is provided with a central hollow fulcrum pivot22 for pivoting the lever in a the same within the hood of theautomobile in i any other convenient spot, but at best the parts arerelatively exposed to the weather and must be protected against rustingor jamming which would-cause failure of the shutter'actuating mechanismas well as resist the force of spring l2, and the'lubricatingarrangement which I have devised admirably performs this function.

-'I'he,lub ricant passes by .capillarity through material 42| intogroove 24 inthe center 'pivot, thence through radial passage 25internally of the -pivot to longitudinal passages 28 and 3| and it 7bearing surfaces for all of the trunnions.

eating action to be continually in effect whether the lever 2| is,moving or not.

Referring now 'to Fig. 4, cylinder 40 has a plunger generally indicated43 made up of a manner to be described. Lock nuts 23 are employed tohold screw IS in adjusted position.

Pivot 22 has an annular rounded lubricating groove 24 and is radiallydrilled at its middle to provide a lubricant passage-communicating thegroove with the hollow center of the pivot.

Referring to Figs, 4 and 5, it'will be seen that lever 2| is made up ofa pair of parallel rocker members 26, 21 movable as a unit. Member 26has an internal lubricant passage- 28 extending throughout the lengththereof and communicating with the bearing surface of a hole drilledtherein to receive pivot 22, 'as well as withthe bearing surfaces fortrunnion 29, for swivel nut 20, and for an .upper hollow pivot 36.Member 21 has an internal passage 3| extendingthrou'gh out the lowerhalf of its length and communicating'with the bearing surface for'trun'nion29 and pivot 22, the latter being radially drilled at 32 inalinement with passage 3|. 36 has anaxial recess 33 and a radial passage34 communicating with the axial recess. Pivot 30 is surrounded by aswivel element 36. Further spacing and tie members 31 are providedbetween rocker members 26 and 21 to connect the same for movementtogether.

The fulcrum or pivot 22of lever 2| is mounted in an outwardly extendingarm or post" inte- 'gral with a cylinder head "39 enclosing one end of aplunger cylinder 40 to be hereinafter described;

passage 42 which is filled with a fibrous stuflingj or wick material 42|adapted to'be saturated with lubricant and to permit the flow of thelubricant therethrough by capillary action.

Withthe above described arrangement of rock lever 2| and the lubricantpassages therein, it. will be seen that all of the pivot bearingsurfaces are effectively lubricated, an important feature 5 whenconsideration is had of the fact that the parts mentioned are in aposition normally exposed to the weather. I may alter the mounting forthe shutter actuating mechanism to bring The upper pivot end of p in '50Seats. The oppo ite end of or conduit 63 is fluid lubricant which maybeinserted through filling. opening 59 closedby a threaded plug ll cupleather 44 and an annularly grooved sealing disk'45 having a packingring 46*.in'its groove, both'of which .are slidable -on,.plung'er rod41. A cup reinforcing member 48 and a lock nut 49, both of which arethreaded onvthe end of rod 41, complete the plunger-structure. The

plunger is urged to the left as viewed in-Fig. 4

by a barrel-shaped coil compression" spring 60. Cylinder head 39hasintegral therewith a central inwardly extending hollow cylindricalguide 5'ljl'f0r the plunger rod 41, the opening'52 formed bythe samebeing closed by a washer 53 and a cup '54" containing packing. Thewasher and cup are retained by a slotted member 55 secured' to the head39. I provide an internal ring 56 of packing mateflanged annular element51'-against which one spring is seated in an annular groove 58 in diskCylinder 46 is normally partially filled withfla .15:

The end .6.| of plunger rod 41 is threadedly se cured in swivel element36 wherebymovementbf the plunger in an axial 'directionwill betransmitted to lever 2| to rockthe same andtension cable l5 to lifttiebar III. The actuation of the plunger in cylinder 40 is effected byfluid pressure, preferably airipressurej communicated with cylinder 40through an opening 62 in the left end as viewed in Fig. 4. A tube tappedinto the cylinder for this purpose. The opposite end of tube 63 issecured to a fitting 64 tapped radially in the body of a thermostaticcontrol device-generally indicated by the reference numeral 65. (SeeFigs. 1 ,and 6.) The said device consists of a body 66reces'sed toprovide a chamber 61inormally'closed by a removable sheet metal shield68 surrounding the body. A- centrally apertured end .plate 69 closes oneend of chamber 61, which may'be designated as the bellows chamber of thedevice, and a second or intake chamber 10 is providedby a partition 1|integral with body 66 and apertured at j 12 to receive ahollow'cylindrical valve casing provided with a central fluid passage 15which is adapted to be closed or opened, depending upon the heatcondition of the radiator, as will be hereinafter described, by a double'acting valve 16 slidable in member 13.

A plunger or thrust transmitting stem 11 exthereof. With the arrangementas shown. air

' cannot pass from the tube into the bellows.

as viewed 82 The stem is spaced fronie member 19 by an exhaust passage'I8I leading from exhaust valve seat 182 in member 18. A coil spring 19surrounds stem 11 between the bellows and a stop washer 80 which ,isadjustable on the threaded'end 8I of member 13 and is secured inadjusted position by lock nuts 82.

I Thus, by adjusting nuts 82 the pressure of spring 19 exerted on thebellows may be increased or decreased and the temperature at which thebel-' lows operates correspondingly regulated. Inasmuch as the pressureon the liquid in the bellows is increased by an increase in springtension, the

' boiling point is also raised. By decreasing spring pressure, theboiling point is lowered. By this method I may adjust'the point ofshutter operation anywhere from 165 to 200 and even more if desired.Irrespective of the point at which it is adjusted, the number of degreesbetween opening and closing operation of the shutter remains the same,approximately 7.

At its end opposite stem 11, the bellows carries a disk 88 which Iprovide with a small central aperture 84 and the disk is brazed to 'a/closed bulb 85 extending through a central opening 88 in closure member89. Bulb 85 carries internally a partition 8'! drilled to receive asmall by the engagement of threads 90 on closure member 89 with anintegral boss 9i on the section.

In open position of valve I8, air passage I5 in I the valve seat iscommunicated with tube 83 through a radial port 92 drilled through valvemember 13 and partition II in alinement with the tube. I provide acavity 98 in advance of the tube, which is filled with a fibrousstraining material'and a pair of filter screens 94.

Chamber I0 is closed by an apertured plug 95 threadedly engaging in thewalls of the chamber,

"closing passage I8I.

ingly fiows from tube 9'I-through passage 15, port Assuming the shuttersI to beheld open by spring J2, a drop in temperature of the enginecooling water of more than a predetermined amount causes bellows I8 tocontract, allowing the valve to fall back from intake seat 14 againstexhaust seat 182, thus opening passage I5 and Air under pressure accord-92, and tube 63 to cylinder 40, actuating plunger 43 to elevate the tiebar I0 and close the shutters. When'the cooling water temperature passesa predetermined maximum, the bellows expands, seating valve I8 againstintake seat I4, closing passage 15, and opening annular exhaust passageIOI, whereupon the airunder pressure in cylinder 40 is exhaustedthroughtube 89, port 82, passage ml, and vent I89. Spring I2 then opensthe shutters.

Air is supplied to control device through tube 91 as stated, andreference is now directed to Figs. 1 and 7 wherein I illustrate tube 91in communication with the upper'compartment of an air filter devicegenerally indicated I02, which device is made up of a pair of hollowcastings separated into upper and lower compartmentsby a screen I03. Thecompartments have tapped openings I08, I05 receivingrespectivelyfittings on the end of tube 91 and on the end of a tube I08suitably connected with a reservoir of air under pressure such was iscommonly found in motor buses, trucks, or coaches having pneumaticbrakes. The upper compartment of the filter device I02 is filled withfibrous straining material l0'I whereby air entering the lowercompartment from tube I08 is initially strained oi moisture andimpurities prior to passing through'tube 91 to control device 85. Thefiuid so strained drips vthrough screen I03 to the lower compartment ofthe filter device and may be drained oif periodically through a cockI08. Similarly, the

fibrous straining material I01 and/or screen I08 may be removed andcleaned or renewed as desired.

I mount filter device I02 preferably by means of a bracket I09 securedto the cylinder head and I tap supply tube 91 into the aperture 98 ofthe plug. I further dispose fibrous straining material 98 and a filterscreen 98 in chamber I0 between plug and valve seat 14, this provision,together with the straining material 93 and screens 94, serving tocompletely remove dust,

moisture. or impurities from the air utilized to drive plunger 45.

A removable plug I00 threaded into partition It is necessary to leave asmall amount of air along with the liquid in thermostatic bulb 85 ofthermostatic control device 85, and the aperture 84 in disk 83 preventsthis air from reaching the bellows and thus causing an unreliable actionwith the filter device adjacent the, exhaust manifold N0 of the vehicleengine 2. Any other suitable place in the engine compartment may bechosen to provide a mounting for the filter device or it may be mountedelsewhere.

The air cylinder 40 can be, and is preferably, made ofca-s't iron and Ihave illustrated the same as being bolted to a sheet metal mounting IIIcarried on the shutter housing 5. However, this mounting is onlyillustrative and I may mount the cylinderwherever desired, as forinstance, interiorly of the engine hood and on the radiator shell I.Similarly, I find the support provided by conduit section 4 adequate tocarry control device, but may fumish additional supportin structuretherefor ii it is found desirable.

My device as shown and describedfls eifectively operable under allweather conditions and under all conditions of load imposed on thevehicle. Its operation does not fluctuate with increased or decreasedengine load as in hitherto known. devices.

a system such as I have disclosed herein results in an increase ineconomy of over eight per cent on a yearly basis, and furthermore,operators of vehicles equipped with the shutter actuating 5 mechanism ofmy invention find it possible and I desirable to leave the shutter andactuating struc I have found that the use of j ture on the vehiclethroughout the year. The thermostatic control device of my invention maybe set to operate between a range of eight to ten degrees and soadjusted will efllciently maintain auniform temperature within thoselimits. The

' increased economy which I find to characterize vehiclesembodying-shutter structures according j to my invention is due solelyto their capability of maintaining uniformly elevated operatingtemperatures' inthe engine.

I have illustrated and described my improveor describe other embodimentsor adaptations as 1 it is believed this disclosure will enable thoseskilled in the .art to embody or adapt my 'im- 3 movements as may bedesired.

Having thus described my invention, what I 1 claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a heatcontrol device for a vehicle cooling system, including aplurality of shutters on the radiator of the vehicle, a cylinder andfluid actuated plunger therein for closing said shutters,

means for supplying fluid under pressure to said cylinder and forcontrolling the supply in accordj .ance with heat requirements of thevehicle enj gine, comprising a fluid feed line, a control de- '1 zviceinserted in said line and comprising a valve 1 chamber an integraldouble acting valve movable in one direction in the chamber to posi- 1tion to shut off fluid pressure from the cylinder and exhaust fluidtherefrom directly to atmospheric pressure and movable in anotherdirection to position to close the exhaust and open the 1 fluid supply,a bellows, a stem transmitting force between said valve and bellows, abulb adapted for insertion in a section of the engine cooling- 1 systemand containing a thermally responsive n liquid, an apertured platebetween said bellows and bulb to prevent entrance of air entrained j insaid bulb with said liquid into said bellows 1 but permit the liquid toenter the bellows, and 3 means for regulating said bellows.

2. In an engine heat control device, a plurality of shutters, a memberoperatively connected thereto, means for actuating the shutters, com- Iprising a cylinder, and a fluid actuated plunger ments in an embodimentwhich I have found very practical. Ihave not attempted to illustrate amember operatively connected thereto, means 7 for actuating the shutter,comprising a cylinder, and a fluid actuated plunger therein, and meanstherein, and means for operativelyconnecting said means and said memberand comprising a rocker lever, a hollow post mounted on said cylinder,said lever being fulcrumed on said post with,

for operatively connecting said means and said member and comprising arocker lever, and a hollow post mounted on said cylinder, said leverbeing fulcrumed on said post with the arms thereof pivotally connectedto said member and said plunger respectively, said lever comprisingparallel members mounted in spaced relation and having longitudinallubricant passages therein communicating with the fulcrumand pivots,said medial pivot communicating with the interior of the post, saidinterior extending from the cylinder to the lever fulcrum and adapted tocontain fluid lubricant whereby the lever is lubricated.

4. In an engine heat control device, a shutter, I

' means for actuating the shutter, means for operatively connecting said'means and said shutter and comprising a rocker lever, a hollow pivotal.support, said lever being fulcrumed on said support with the armsthereof having pivots operatively swiveled to said actuating means andsaid shutter respectively, said lever comprising parallel membersmounted in spaced relation and having longitudinal lubricant passagestherein communicating with the fulcrum and pivots, said fulcrumcommunicating with the interior of the support, and fibrous material insaid interior adapted to be permeated by fluid lubricant whereby thelever is lubricated by capillarity.

WALTER A. KYSOR.

